by Kiera West
“Sorry, babe,” he said, regret filling his voice. He immediately let go of her. He stepped forward to follow Noah, but she stayed him with her hand.
“Are you all right?”
He pulled her closer and gave her a quick kiss. “Everything is going to be okay.”
And he left her there with Ethan, although, at that moment, she wasn’t too sure it was going to be okay.
* * * *
The scent of his mother filled the air. Damn it, she was supposed to be dead. Shane couldn’t believe that after all these years, she was in the area.
“Something wrong?” Vic asked.
“There is something really wrong with this scent. It’s some kind of odd mix.”
But that wasn’t it. His stomach was in knots at the thought of the evil bitch returning.
“Something else though. You brushed off your mate like she was nothing.”
He inwardly sighed. If Vic noticed, Shane was positive others noticed, including Eve. He looked back at her and tried to give her a smile and failed. She was watching him, her eyes haunted, her face stark. Ethan was comforting her. He didn’t know why she was so upset. He hadn’t been rude or mean.
“You know, as the bonding continues, she is going to start feeling all of your emotions to some degree. She’s probably freaking out because you look like you saw a ghost.”
Smelled one, that’s for sure.
“She might be a scientist, but I don’t want her to see this.”
Vic nodded. “I understand. I am sure she doesn’t, but I do. You don’t think it was the leopards.”
He said it as a statement as Shane got his first true look at the wolves.
“Holy mother of God.”
“I know. I barely kept down my dinner when I saw it.”
Blood stained the snow, but unlike before, these four wolves had been tortured. Each one had been staked down, and lord knew how long they had been left in pain. Death and his mother, the scents followed him around as he circled the wolves.
“This has got to stop, Dillon,” Ray was saying to Noah. “If you can’t protect us, we will take measures.”
The threat pulled a growl from Shane, and he strode over to Noah and Ray. Noah grabbed him before he would attack the Byrd leader.
“Have any leopards been injured?” Shane shouted the question. “No, it is our kin. You know as well as I do that while we are different, we are related. The deaths of these wolves hit us, they hit us hard. If our ancestors hadn’t allowed you refuge, you would have been dead. You would have died. You owe us. You owe Noah.”
“Shane,” Noah said. He didn’t yell, but it was enough to pull Shane back from the edge. He looked around and realized everyone had stopped talking and was watching him. Shane knew that he rarely raised his voice. He would rather compromise than fight. It was easier. But in this, he could not let someone disparage his cousin.
“You will not threaten Noah, or anyone else for that matter. That is exactly what these bastards want.”
The leopard bowed his head but said nothing else as he headed back to his pride.
He looked up and saw his father looking at him across the dead wolves. Shane knew from looking at his expression he had picked up on the scent, too. He wasn’t in the mood to deal with it, deal with the issue that this brought. Not right now.
He turned on his heel and headed back to the SUV. He stopped in front of Ethan and Eve. “I’m going to head back to the cabin.”
If they thought it odd, neither of them said it. “I’ll go with you,” Eve offered quietly. He wanted to say no because he needed to be alone. But, he wanted her as far away from the evil. He nodded.
Ethan cuffed his shoulder as he walked by, and he led Eve to the SUV. They were on the way before she said anything.
“You want to tell me what that was all about?”
“Not really.”
She sighed, and he heard the irritation.
“I can’t talk about it right now. I need to cool down. It still pisses me off that they blame Noah.”
He could almost feel her gaze soften as she stared at him. “You were upset over their behavior toward Noah?”
“Yeah.” Mostly. “They are safe because of him.”
“You were right about whomever the perpetrators are doing this to pull us apart.”
His heart warmed when he heard her say “us.” She might not realize it yet, but she was one of them. One of them all of them would die to protect.
“I know, but they weren’t going to listen. Those cats have bad tempers. It’s one of the reasons they almost got hunted to death.”
“So, you want to tell me what you smelled when you got there? I thought you might throw up.”
He snorted. “Like that was going to happen.”
“There is something you’re not telling me.”
“I make it a policy to tell a lady what she wants to hear.”
She said nothing for a few seconds, and he glanced over at her. Her eyes were narrowed and spitting fire. He thought for sure that she would have slapped him in the back of his head if she could have.
“Fine, hide right now. But when we get home, we are going to talk about this.”
Chapter Seven
Eve was pissed. She didn’t get pissed that often, and she didn’t even like using the word pissed, but it was exactly the way she felt now. Damn it, she thought they had gotten further than this.
She stomped into the mudroom. The snow flew off her as she trudged along. With ease she pulled off her outer gear and dropped it where she stood. Not normal for her, but she didn’t care. She was ready to have it out with yet another bullheaded wolf.
She inwardly chuckled at the name. Talk about mixed metaphors.
“What has you smiling,” Rand said as he ambled out into the family room.
“Nothing and don’t think you are getting away without a discussion, Shane Dillon.”
He sighed and turned around.
“Explain,” she demanded.
He stilled. “Excuse me?”
“Explain to me what happened out there. You freaked.”
Rand looked from one to the other.
“Uh, I am going to…go…read a book.”
He left his brother high and dry, and Eve didn’t care. She barely noticed him leaving the room.
“What do you want me to say?”
“I want you to explain why you freaked out. There was a look in your eyes I don’t think I ever saw before.”
“It was the scent. It was off, way off, and there is something really wrong with whoever did this.”
“We know that.”
He shook his head. “Eve, you have to understand just how wrong it is. There is no explanation of that scent. It might seem silly to outsiders, but the odd freaky smell was…it was like some kind of science experiment gone wrong.”
The sincerity of his words cooled her temper somewhat. “It’s that bad?”
“That is why everyone, including the leopards and bears, are so upset. None of us know what it is, what is killing.”
Something was missing, something he wasn’t telling her.
“And, you got rude with me, why?”
“Because you were there. Being exposed to something like that is wrong.” He stepped closer, hesitating only a second before he pulled her into his arms. The heat of his body warmed the chill that was racing down her spine. “It’s instinctive for us to want to protect you. I’m sorry.”
She leaned back and looked at him, cupping his face. “I understand. It just isn’t like you, Shane.”
He shrugged. “Everyone is on edge. Even good-time Shane.”
She frowned at him, knowing that was the way most people saw him. He was always there with a joke to make her feel better, and he was the center of attention in most groups. His genial, fun-loving manner hid another side of him, though.
“Don’t do that.”
“What?”
“Don’t put yourself down.”
He rolled his eyes. “I wasn’t putting myself down. I was just being truthful.”
“No you weren’t. I know you have a jovial side, Shane. I understand it, considering your first few years.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Ethan told me about your mother.”
He looked dumbstruck for a moment. Then his face flushed with anger. “I have only one mother.”
She nodded and walked to him, taking his hands. “I said that wrong. Your biological mother. You tried to fit in, and to do it, you diminish yourself. Can’t you see that this is important, that you are important? You are smart as a whip, and hell, Noah wouldn’t be able to handle all the financial figures. You do that in your head. I’ve seen him cuss at the calculator.”
He smiled as she hoped he would.
“And, you’re kind. When I was lost, when I wasn’t able to figure out things about Noah, you helped. It is one of the things I love about you.”
He stilled. “What?”
She smiled, feeling better now that she said it. “I love you. I thought you knew.”
He shook his head as she nodded. “I love you because of who you are. You’ll just have to accept that.”
She rose to her tiptoes and brushed her mouth over his cheek. He still looked stunned. She heard someone clearing their throat, and she turned to find Shane’s father waiting on them.
“Do you mind if I have a moment with my son?” he asked, his smile gentle and a reminder of his son’s.
“No problem. I’m going to do some research.” She gave Shane a hug and left them. She didn’t know where she was going. Did she make a mistake telling him that she loved him? He looked so stunned. What did she do wrong? She felt the tears rolling down her cheeks before she realized she was crying. She found herself at Rand’s door. She didn’t knock, but walked in. He was reading in bed, only wearing a pair of jeans. He looked up with a smile and then a look of alarm moved over his face.
“Is something wrong? Did someone get hurt?”
She shook her head and walked to his side of the bed. She didn’t wait to be invited, just sat down and collapsed on his chest. It wasn’t like her to do this. Big crying jags weren’t her thing. But, since getting involved with the Dillons, she seemed to be doing all kinds of things out of character.
* * * *
“So, you want to tell me what the problem is?”
Shane jerked his shoulder and didn’t say anything to his father. He didn’t know how to, actually. He knew his father had scented the same thing he did.
“You will not look at the floor when you address me, boy.”
He whipped his head up and tried to remind himself this was his father. He didn’t need to break him in half.
“I am not a boy.”
“Then maybe it’s time you started acting like a man.”
Anger filled him. “Not many men can say things like that to me and live.”
“I’m your father, and I have a right. Especially when you’re being an ass. Is there a reason you didn’t tell your mate you’re in love with her?”
He said nothing, just looked away.
“You still blame me, don’t you?” The agony he heard in his father’s voice tore at his heart and surprised him. He looked at him.
“No, I don’t hate you. How could you think that?”
“I should have protected you more. I should have made sure that bitch was far away from you.”
Shane shook his head. “You couldn’t have known.”
“I should have. She wasn’t always like that, you know. Something changed her during the pregnancy. I’m not sure if it’s because of the hormones or her own screwed-up childhood.”
“Great, being my mother made her crazy.”
“No. Don’t think that. When we found out she was pregnant, we were…I guess happy would be the best word. Your mother was ecstatic. Of course, I should have seen that it was going to change, that the depression would come. That family of hers was pretty fucked up.”
“And their genes are in mine.”
“Don’t make me smack you, Shane. You are a good man. I raised you to be one. And besides that, no Dillon has gone crazy, except Cousin Ed.”
He found his first smile. “Ed was a transvestite. He wasn’t crazy.”
His father sighed. “I know you talked to people about it, but you never told me. What happened when you were there? We were worried that you would never talk.”
“And then you couldn’t shut me up.”
His father smiled. “Yeah. But, in the end you never told us. You never confided in me what that woman did to you.”
Shane jerked a shoulder. “I don’t truly remember.”
“The nightmares?”
“Just talking about them made it better.”
His father nodded. “So, you smelled her, too. Could be it was someone she was related to?”
“Too strong. That crazy bitch is back, and she’s apparently coming after us.”
“We’ll talk to Noah in the morning. Not much we can do about this. I’ll call a few of her old family members. She had one or two normal cousins who escaped to the lower forty-eight before the family could ruin them. Why don’t you go make up with your mate?”
Shane hesitated for a second or two, then did as his father suggested. When he walked down the hall to his room, he stopped by Rand’s room when he heard the crying. Damn.
He opened the door and was immediately speared with a nasty look from his brother. Rand could handle just about anything but a crying lady.
“Eve?”
She rose off his brother’s chest and shot him a dirty look. Of course, it was completely ruined by her puffy eyes and splotchy skin. Their mate wasn’t very pretty when she cried. And at the moment, she was the most beautiful thing the world. He walked into the room slowly as not to spook her. When he reached the bed, he tugged her up and pulled her into his arms.
“I’m sorry, babe. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
She drew in a shuddering breath as he rocked her back and forth as much to comfort her as himself.
He heard a sound behind him and found Max standing at the door, a frown on his face. “What did you do to her?”
“I was an ass.” He pulled back a far enough to cup her face. “I’m so sorry.”
She shuddered as he brushed his mouth over hers. He tasted her, licking his tongue over her lips.
“I really am sorry. I should have never been such a…” He found himself at a loss for words as she looked up at him with those watery blue eyes.
She sniffed. “Jackass.”
He smiled. “Let me make it up to you.”
He pulled her up off the bed and kissed her deeply then, letting her feel the love he felt for her but was too afraid to say. He pulled off her sweater and tossed it behind her. He heard Max complain about being hit with it, but he ignored him. He was so focused on getting her naked he didn’t want anything distracting him.
Within seconds she was naked, bare as the day she was born. He kissed down her body, kneeling before her. Without a word, he placed his mouth on her pussy, slipping his tongue into her. He didn’t let up, didn’t allow her to prepare really. The taste of her danced over his tongue, slipped through his body. This connection was always so strong, Shane felt his need increase for her each day. Tasting her made him feel so close, as if no one in the world stood between them. He teased her clit and added a finger. He enjoyed the way she shuddered against him when she came. It was hard, fast, and she shouted as it happened.
“Damn,” Max said.
Shane rose to his feet as Rand pulled her into his arms and carried her to the bed. Shane watched his brothers join her on the bed as he tore his clothes off of him. He crawled on the bed and pulled Eve on top of him. His cock twitched with the need to take her, to make her his again. She moved against him and his balls pulsed. She rose up, looking like Venus rising from the waters. She was gorgeous, their mate. The woman was amazing, thrilling, and made just for
them.
She rose to her knees and slowly sunk down on his cock. She moved over him, pivoting her hips. Lord, she was going to kill him. She smiled down at him, arching back as Max came up behind her. Max nuzzled her neck and cupped her breasts. Shane steadied her hips as Rand plucked at her nipples. She sighed, then moaned, leaning back against Rand. He watched his brother’s darker flesh against Eve’s snow-white skin.
Rand eased closer as Max motioned for her to lean down so he could enter from behind. Shane stopped moving as Max entered her ass. She moaned, the throaty sound vibrating through the room. It sunk into his soul.
Shane leaned up and took a hardened nipple into his mouth, loving the way she gasped as his teeth grazed the tip of her nipple.
Rand moved closer and offered up his cock for her to suck. As always she opened her mouth ready to please, ready to be pleased. Max and Shane moved in tandem, driving her closer to the edge. The only sounds in the room were the slapping of flesh and the moans.
“Fuck, that’s good, baby,” Rand said as she worked his cock in and out of her mouth. “God, yeah, just like that.”
She had started to shiver as Rand started to move in and out of her mouth fast. He felt her pussy spasm on his cock as she shuddered and gave him a muffled moan. Rand was now moving in and out of her mouth faster and faster. One last groan and his brother gave himself over to his orgasm. He watched as Eve lapped up his brother’s cum, happily. She seemed to take so much pleasure in the act of oral sex it always amazed him. Rand pulled back as Shane and Max kept moving. She was just recovering from her last orgasm as they sent her over again. All those delicious muscles clenched down tight on his cock and he knew it was doing the same to Max’s cock. Now she was sobbing, with pleasure, or the beauty of it all. Shane wasn’t sure. Next time, he wanted to be there with her. Max shouted and stilled behind her, and she went flying gain. He thrust back up into her one more time and joined her.
She collapsed on top of him, still shivering from her release.
Max settled down on the opposite side of her. Each of his bothers gave her a kiss. Then she snuggled her head under his chin and sighed in pleasure. Her body slowly relaxed into sleep.
He kept her there, connected to her in the most intimate way. He stared at the ceiling as he thought over just what the hell his mother was doing in the area.
